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The world of finance may not be the most immediately intriguing subject. Certainly, bank heists and ransom money are common fodder for action movies, but to build an entire "thriller" around financial matters themselves though is a challenging feat. Can quarterly reports and fraudulent business dealings enrapture an audience's attention without lots of bangs and gunfights? Arbitrage answers yes, but succeeds only partially.
Robert Miller (Richard Gere) appears to balance his shrewd business sense with being the ideal patriarch of a wealthy family with easygoing certainty—at least, within the film's first ten minutes. It is quickly revealed that Miller regularly departs from his wife, Ellen (Susan Sarandon), for romantic trysts with Julie (Laetitia Casta), a French artist whose work he invests in. On one such occasion, Miller suggests to his mistress that they should leave for a tropical paradise together, leaving business and family behind. Their late night travels are cut short, however, by a car accident that leaves Miller wounded and Julie dead.
An old friend's son, Jimmy (Nate Parker), owes Miller a favor, so Miller calls him in to help him flee the scene of the crime. The night's implications make up for the rest of the film's dramatic content. It becomes readily apparent that Julie's death was merely the tip of the iceberg and this business wizard has much more to hide. Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth) uses his angst against the unfair acquittal of the rich to drive his quest to convict either Jimmy or Miller of the girl's death. Meanwhile, Miller's daughter, Brooke (Brit Marling), begins to see some discrepancies in her father's financial records and, thus, in the moral character she thought she knew so well.
Arbitrage is entertaining, through and through. The film is fast-paced, yet methodical; it is contemplative without ever being lethargic. Indeed, its greatest strength is the remarkable and steady speed at which it keeps itself going. Like Sidney Lumet's Network, the banal office existence of its characters, made somewhat spicy by extramarital affairs and double lives, is shown to be both dramatic and compelling. It dramatizes the ordinary lives of the extraordinarily rich. Not the Paris Hiltons and Kim Kardashians of the upper set, but the sensational capitalists that conservatives love to champion and liberals love to deride.
Gere maintains a stoic demeanor throughout most of the film, but his performance is compelling, and is even receiving Oscar buzz. He is no stranger to the leading role, but Arbitrage might well be a minus on his A-list status. Sarandon is given second billing but is barely given any screen time to make an impression either negatively or positively. Roth charms as a cynical, New York detective, but his British accent peeks out every now and again from his nearly impeccable Brooklynite gab. Parker and Marling evoke the most empathy among a cast of otherwise unfeeling characters. While their fellow players may occasionally lapse into emotion, these two keep the viewer enthralled while the last of their youth and innocence is done away with.
Arbitrage never lapses completely into cliché but dances on a tightrope for its entirety. While original, its plot is carried out by a troupe of stereotypes. The business man whose affair costs him more than he bargained for, the alcoholic wife who takes her cues from Lady Macbeth, the naive youths caught up in a world too wicked for them, and the detective who modernizes the Raymond Chandler, fast-talking, New York archetype. The characters remain interesting because of the cast that plays them. It is a timely drama given our age of bailouts and economic stimulus, but one that could easily have made an appearance at any other time as well.
The writing is also lacking at times. When one character affirms "the world is cold" and is answered back with "well then you'll need a warm coat," the more cynical spectator cannot help but cringe. Still, due to its excellent pacing, the plot is relatively easy to follow. Jarecki's screenplay avoids the pitfalls of an overly sped film like Quantum of Solace and an overdrawn, slow-motion movie like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. It's just a shame the dialogue had to suffer the consequences.
In Arbitrage, the capitalist battlecry of Oliver Stone's Wall Street (that "greed is good") is heard loud and clear. Gere's character actually intones that money is "god" at one point in the story. For all these characters, it would certainly seem to be. They are all controlled by it somehow. Whether striving against it or running along with its demands, the greatest commandment is to "follow the money" and, should the money be threatened, to protect it at all costs. At any point, the main characters stand to lose everything because of an accident on the highway. The discerning viewer can easily see that they have lost anything that mattered long before the curtain even rose—and that the advice to store up treasures in heaven is lost on them all.
Talk About It
Discussion starters- How can Christians avoid greed while still being good stewards of their money?
- What sort of circumstances could lead to extramarital affairs and how can we prevent them? Is the thirst for money and power a regularly contributing factor?
- Is Detective Bryer just in all his attempts to bring down the guilty Robert Miller? How can the law best restrain the insatiable desires of the human heart?
The Family Corner
For parents to considerArbitrage is rated R for language, brief violent images and drug use. Strong language is used as a matter of course. The main character is seen having an affair, although no nudity is shown. His mistress is shown at another time snorting cocaine. The whole film is made up of stressful situations and familial tension.
Photos © Nicholas Jarecki
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